Buy-Side Technology Awards 2016: Best Fund Administrator—SEI

Founded in 1968, with a current headcount of 2,600 and revenues of $1.34 billion for the 12 months ending in June 2016, SEI has 265 clients—mostly based in the US, but also in the UK, Europe and other emerging markets—representing more than 2,100 funds. The firm currently services almost $800 billion in assets, while over the course of the last two years it has committed more than $200 million to new technology research and development (R&D). 

SEI’s middle-office solutions include trade matching, communication and affirmation; corporate-actions processing; investment accounting; custodian reconciliation; performance measurement, composite management and attribution; account transitions; security master maintenance; pricing; portfolio analytics; client billing; and internal, regulatory and client reporting. In addition to these core middle-office services, SEI also supports collateral management, enhanced valuation services, bank-loan processing, net-asset valuations (NAV) confirmation, post-trade compliance monitoring, and risk measurement functions.

SEI’s fund admin offering comprises four primary services: performance measurement, historical performance conversion, composites management, and performance analytics. It uses SS&C Advent’s Geneva platform to calculate portfolio and segment-level rates of return as well as composite-level returns. Portfolio, segment and composite-level performance and benchmark data is stored in SEI’s data warehouse and is available via its Manager Dashboard on a daily basis. SEI is able to convert historical performance on a total portfolio and segment return level. Converted returns can be as frequent as daily, although monthly converted returns are typical. It is then able to geometrically link converted returns to SEI-calculated returns in order to establish a performance track record. In terms of composites management, composite membership is managed within Geneva’s compositing module and adjusted by SEI’s performance team according to each client. 

Oaks, Pa.-based SEI, winner of this year’s best fund administrator category, is no stranger to the BST Awards winners’ circle—this year’s win takes the firm’s tally to six on the trot. Clearly, SEI is doing something right.